The Gathering of Mesoamerican Peoples,
“Say yes to Life, Say no to Mining:
Weaving Resistance for the Defense of
our Territory”, took place on January
17th through the 20th, 2013, in
Calpulalpam de Mendez, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Approximately 500 people from all across
Mexico and different countries attended
the event.

The objective of this gathering was to
analyze the consequences of mining in
Mesoamerica in order to come up with
ways to resist, organize, and
communicate amongst the different
groups.

Different themes were discussed
throughout the gathering: the extraction
model of common goods (natural
resources); the general overview of
mining in Mexico and in other countries
of the Americas; the environmental,
social, and health impacts of mining;
and resistance by the people.

The event’s participants released the
following statement (translated into
English):

FORMAL WRITTEN STATEMENT: Gathering of
the Peoples of Mesoamerica: Yes to life,
No to Mining.

The people, communities, collectives
and networks, representative of the
diversity that characterizes the
Mesoamerican region, have gathered on
January 17th – 20th of 2013, in the
Zapotec community of Calpulalpam de
Mendez in order to analyze the issues
related to mining in our territories,
and we have shared our experiences
defending and resisting the mining
mega-projects set in motion by
transnational capital. The voices of
the participants would like to
pronounce:
We currently live under a political and
economic model based on the plunder and
the rapid extraction of our common goods
-such as minerals, water, forests,
petroleum, air, gas, carbon, knowledge
-through the pillage and marketing of
our ancestral lands.

Under the imposition of this model of
extraction, the people of Mesoamerica
fight against a hegemonic transnational
process that destroys our own social,
economic, political and cultural
structures.

In order to implement this model the
governments have signed a series of
multilateral agreements -such as Plan
Merida, the Trans Pacific Partnership,
the Mesoamerican Project, the North
American Free Trade Agreement amongst
others- that result in agrarian, energy,
labor, education, budgetary, security
and judicial structural reforms; which
take place with the support of the
government, the military and the capital
sector represented by businesses, the
State and the multilateral financial
institutions. In this sense, when the
governments choose to side with the
plundering capitalism, or when they
associate with the international
corporations, they become the enemies of
our people.

Under this model of extraction, we have
decided to weave our resistance through
the strengthening of our community
structures, such as assemblies
(community authorities), keeping control
of the communal territory and
strengthening our historic memory.

The time when the government
represented an absolute power is a thing
of the past; it is necessary to have a
new relationship with the government,
where the indigenous people can decide
the destiny of their territory.

Under the huge threat that the mining
industry represents for our Mesoamerican
region, we call for the people and the
communities of Honduras, Guatemala, El
Salvador, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Canada
and Mexico to strengthen our networks of
resistance in order to create alliances
based in our knowledge, where the
defense of the territory is the base of
our communication.

In order to defend life, our sacred
spaces, our forests and rivers,
mountains, springs and our sons and
daughters we DEMAND:

•A change of the current economic and
political model that allows the
plundering of our territories, as well
as a change in the authoritarian,
colonialist, militarized, patriarchal
politics exercised by the governments.
The respect of the people’s decisions
must be a fundamental part of a new
relationship with the state-governments.
This means the implementation of the
right for self-determination of the
indigenous, farm worker and rural
communities.

•The cancelation of all the mining
projects, in the Mesoamerican region,
where the communities are in
disagreement with the model of
extraction used.

•For the procedures of community
consultation to be respected, because
they are an ancestral tradition of
participation and decision making of the
people. We demand that the results to be
considered binding; these consultations
represent a substantive right of
protection to the fundamental rights of
indigenous people.

•To create mechanisms to guarantee that
the border territories will be free of
mining projects and to prevent
bi-national conflicts that threaten the
harmony and good neighbor politics in
the Mesoamerican region.

•Justice for all the defenders of the
territory that have been criminalized,
threatened, attacked and murdered in the
Mesoamerican region.

•A law in Honduras that prohibits
open-pit mining and underground mining,
as well as the compensation and
reparations for the harms caused to the
environment by Gold Corp Corporation and
other companies.

•A halt in the incitement, repression
and legal prosecution against the
non-violent struggle of Guatemala,
solidarity with the people of Puya, in
the East of Guatemala.

•That the constitutional court favors
the recourse of unconstitutionality
against the mining law that the People’s
Council presented in March 2012.

•That the Guatemalan government
respects the decisions manifested by the
people during the community
consultations already done.

Our wealth is not measured by the
amount of minerals produced, but by our
own organizational, political, social
and cultural proposals. The aggressions
against our communities wound us very
deeply, so we DEMAND:

•A cancelation of the mining
concessions and the acknowledgement of
the NO to mining resolution of the
general assembly of members of the
commune and citizens of Calpulalpam de
Mendez; as well as the permanent closure
of the mining company Natividad and any
connected companies.

•A cancelation of the mining project
“San Jose”, in the municipality of San
Jose del Progreso, Oaxaca, the
cancelation of the mining concessions
already made in the Central Valleys
region, and punishment for the
perpetrators of the crimes committed
against the Coordinadora de Pueblos
Unidos del Valle de Ocotlán since 2006.

•A halt to the human rights violations
perpetrated by the Canadian mining
company Excellon Resources Inc. to ejido
members of La Sierrita and the
mineworkers who are members of the Local
309 of the Mining Union in Durango.

•A solution to the conflict in the
local government of Tlacolula.
Punishment to the aggressions of the
municipal president of Tlacolula against
the members of the Coordinadora para la
Defensa de los Recursos Naturales del
Valle de Tlacolula.

•The cancelation of the hydroelectric
project Paso de la Reina in the coast of
Oaxaca, Mexico.

•A solution to the municipal problem of
San Mateo del Mar in the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec.

•Justice for the Triqui people.

•Justice for Bety Cariño and Jyri
Jaakkola.

•We denounce the death threats against
Carlos Beas, Bettina Cruz Velásquez,
Rodrigo Flores Peñaloza, and Saúl
Celaya, and we ask for an end to the
permanent harassment against the
communities in resistance to the eolian
mega-project in the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec by the state government and
the Spanish company Mareña Renovables.

We are in solidarity with the “Idle no
More” movement in the defense of their
territories and sovereignty.

We recognize the community of
Capulálpam de Méndez for being an
example in their political and community
organization and in their resistance
against the mining projects of the
Sierra Juarez.

We have the right to say NO to the
imposed development and to define our
economic, social, political, and
cultural models.

For the defense of our territories: Yes
to Life, No to Mining in the
Mesoamerican Region.

Captions

The Gathering of Mesoamerican Peoples, “Say yes to Life, Say no to
Mining: Weaving Resistance for the Defense of our Territory”, took
place on January 17th through the 20th, 2013, in Calpulalpam de
Mendez, Oaxaca, Mexico.
***************
El Encuentro de pueblos de Mesoamérica, "Sí a la Vida, No a la
Minería: Tejiendo la Resistencia por la Defensa de Nuestros
Territorios", se llevó a cabo del 17 al 20 de Enero del 2013, en
Calpulalpam de Mendez, Oaxaca, México.

2. Calpulalpam de Mendez' church - La iglesia de Calpulalpam de Mendez

Calpulalpam de Mendez is a beautiful town that was recently named a
Magical Village by Mexico's Secretariat of Tourism.
**********
Calpulalpam de Mendez es un pueblo hermoso que recientemente fue
nombrado Pueblo Mágico por el Secretariado de Turismo de México.

3. Calpulalpam de Mendez

Calpulapam de Mendez´ mountains have been reforested and protected by
the community.
**********

The community of Calpulalpam de Mendez has experienced many of the
negative effects of mining, including the loss of 13 springs that
provided them with drinking water.
**********
La comunidad de Calpulalpam de Mendez ha experimentado muchos de los
efectos negativos de la minería, incluyendo la desaparición de 13 ojos
de agua que eran su fuente de agua potable.

5. Sacred places - Lugares Sagrados

For the the majority of residents of Calpulalpam de Mendez, the areas
of interest to the mining companies are considered sacred places and
are sites of ancestral offerings for rain and water.
**********
Para los residentes de Calpulalpam de Mendez las áreas de interés para
las empresas mineras son lugares sagrados, en dónde sus antepasados
hacían ofrendas relacionadas con el agua y la lluvia.

6. Water - El agua

Water is extremely important for the people of Calpulalpam de Mendez.
All of their drinking water comes from the springs that surround their
town. Water also generates jobs, as the community also owns and
operates a sustainable water bottling project.
**********
El agua es extremadamente importante para la gente de Calpulalpam de
Mendez. Toda su agua potable proviene de manantiales y ojos de agua
que rodean su comunidad. El agua también genera empleos, ya que la
comunidad es dueña de un proyecto para embotellar agua de manera
sustentable.

7. Trees - Árboles

The community of Calpulalpam also depends on the tress and the
mountains in order to make a living. They collectively own a
sustainable logging project that generates many jobs and income for
the community.

The community of Calpulalpam de Mendez also operates an ecoturism
project in the area. This is another reason why they work on
preserving and protecting the environment.
**********
La comunidad de Calpulalpam de Mendeztambién opera un proyecto de
ecoturismo en el área. Esta es otra razón por la cual trabajan para
preservar y protejer el medio ambiente

9.Progress - Progreso

The people of Calpulalpam de Mendez propose a different idea of
progress, in which we can take care and respect mother earth. They
oppose large scale mining because they have already lived with the
consecuences of these types of projects: death, illnesses and the
destruction of the environment.

The Youth Marimba Band New Emerald of Calpulalpam de Mendez launched
their first CD during the gathering. The youth band has received
several awards and some of their members have performed in countries
like the United States and China.
**********
El grupo Juvenil de Marimba Nueva Esmeralda de Calpulalpam de Mendez
hizo el lanzamineto de su primer disco compacto durante el Encuentro.
Este grupo ha ganado varios premios y algunos de sus integrantes han
tocado marimba en países como Estados Unidos y China.

José Luis Valdés, member of the organizations Mexican Network of
Communities Affected by Mining and For the Rescue of Dignity and
Mining, spoke with WfP about the devastating consecuences of loosing
the first and last mining cooperative in Mexico, the Metallurgical
Mining Cooperative Society of Santa Fe de Guanajuato, Number One.

The debate on how to create and sustain a "good life" in our
communities included the participation of rural and urban residents
and people of all ages.
*********
El debate de cómo crear y mantener el "buen vivir" en
nuestras comunidades incluyó la participación de residentes de áreas
urbanas y rurales, como también personas de todas las edades.

24. Media - Medios de Comunicación

The gathering attracted journalists from different countries and was
streamed live on the internet.
*********
El encuentro atrajo a reporteros de diferentes países y se transmitió
en vivo por el internet.

25. Women - La Mujer

A common theme during the gathering was the importance of women in the
social, cultural, political, and economic life of the communities.
*********
Un tema común de las discusiones del encuentro fué la importancia de
la mujer en la vida social, cultural, política y económica de los
pueblos.

It took the community of Calpulalpam de Mendez one year to prepare and
to plan for the logistics of the event . They created 15 committees
which organized and executed the tasks necessary in order house and
feed more than 500 people.
**********
La comunidad de Calpulalpam de Mendez tuvo que trabajar por un año
para planear la logística este evento. Crearon 15 comités para
coordinar las logísticas necesarias para hospedar y alimentar a más de
500 personas.

During the ceremony, the participants remembered the thousands of
people who have lost their lives trying to migrate to the U.S.
**********
Durante la ceremonia, los participantes recordaron a las miles de
personas que han perdido sus vidas tratando de migrar a los Estados
Unidos de América.

33. Orchestra - Orquesta

The Youth Orchestra of Calpulalpam de Mendez made the participants
dance after a long day of work.
*********
La Orquesta juvenil de Calpulalpam de Mendez hizo bailar a los
participantes después de un largo día de trabajo.

Participants learned about the experience of Calpulalpam de
Mendez´residents during the time when the Natividad mine was
operating.
**********
Los participantes aprendieron acerca de la experiencia de los
residentes de Calpulalpam de Mendez durante el periodo cuando la mina
de la Natividad estaba funcionando.

39. No to mining - No a la Minería

The reasons why Calpulalpam de Mendez opposes mining are many; the
destruction of the environment, the deaths and illnesses related to
mining and the fact that mega-mining does not increase the well-being
of the community are but a few. When the Natividad mine was
functioning, the wealth extracted went abroad to the transnational
corporations.
**********
Las razones por las que Calpulalpam de Mendez se opone a la minería
son muchas; la destrucción del medio ambiente, las enfermedades y las
muertes relacionadas con la minería, y el hecho de que la minería
nunca incrementó el bienestar de los residentes, son algunas de ellas.
Cuando la mina Natividad estaba funcionando, las riquezas extraidas se
llevaban al extranjero, a las empresas transnacionales.

In Oaxaca, violence and terror have been used to keep people from
organizing. Leovigildo Vásquez Sánchez lost his brother in the
struggle for self-determination to the community. He told WfP:
"“Our major achievement is resistance. As we say in San Jose,
people resist. They have cut the flowers, but the summer in San Jose
has no end. San Jose blooms, always blooms, because people are very
aware, very humble, and very smart. And they have been able to take
the movement very far.”

Gustavo Castro Soto spoke about three types of resistance: pasive,
active and with the ability to create change. The passive resists
submissively. The active mobilizes to marches and stops projects. The
one with the ability to create change results in a different way of
living and a different relationship with Mother Earth and respect to
diversity.
**********
Gustavo Castro Soto habló acerca de tres tipos de resistencia: pasiva,
activa y propositiva. La pasiva resiste pasivamente. La activa se
mobiliza a marchas y detiene proyectos. La propositiva genera
diferentes formas de vida, una diferente relación con la madre tierra
y respeto a la diversidad.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Keep in touch with Witness for Peace

To stay up to date with Witness for Peace campaigns through email, please sign up for our online activist network.

Welcome to the Witness for Peace Blog!

This is your online resource for news, analysis, and action on U.S. foreign policy and corporate practice. You will also find stories of struggle and hope from our partners throughout Latin America.

Witness for Peace is a politically independent grassroots organization committed to nonviolence and led by faith and conscience. Witness for Peace's mission is to support peace, justice, and sustainable economies by changing the policies and practices which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean.